JOHANNESBURG – South Africa is intensifying efforts to contain a fast-spreading outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as fears grow over the potential impact on beef supplies and exports. The agriculture ministry confirmed on Thursday that over 900,000 vaccine doses have been ordered, with the first batch set to arrive next week.
The outbreak has spread across five provinces, with KwaZulu-Natal identified as the hardest hit. Concerns escalated further this week after Karan Beef, the country’s largest feedlot and one of the biggest globally, reported an outbreak at its Heidelberg facility, located about 50 kilometres southeast of Johannesburg. The site, which processes around 2,000 cattle daily, is now under quarantine.
Officials said the strategy goes beyond immediate containment and includes plans to establish long-term infrastructure to manage future disease risks.
Calls are mounting from cattle producers for the government to declare a state of disaster, which would enable emergency measures to shield the livestock sector from financial losses.
The latest outbreak has already led to trade restrictions, with countries such as China, Namibia and Zimbabwe halting imports of South African beef and related products.
Adding pressure to the industry, the country is still reeling from the worst avian flu crisis in its history, which wiped out a third of the national chicken population last year. In response, the agriculture department on Thursday rolled out South Africa’s first mass poultry vaccination campaign to prevent a repeat of the deadly virus.
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